Last week was the Tokyo D23, Disney's own fan club convention where Disney nerds from all around gather to listen to the company hype whatever they have decided we need to be excited about. Anaheim had their own D23 earlier in the year and nothing of note really came from it on the theme park front. In Tokyo, however, they finally had something to announce.
While we've know it was coming for a while, Imagineering finally released more information about Avatar Land, the huge expansion coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom sometime in the next 5 year (possibly 2017). At Tokyo's D23, WDI released some beautiful concept art and shots of their scale model to give an impression on what the land may look like. As expected, the concept shows lots of glowing plants and weird, alien flora and fauna, just like the first Avatar film. While everything about the land continues to look beautiful, I am still waiting for the wow factor that will convince me this will be an amazing land.
from http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/
What we know so far is the land will include at least two major attractions. A boat ride through the forest of Pandora (pictured above) and a simulator ride flying through the skies of Pandora. In addition to the attractions, you can expect your normal assortment of restaurants, snack bars, shops, and character meet and greet locations to round out the land. The land itself looks to be backed by a GIGANTIC floating mountain, towering above the visitors to Pandora, as seen in a shot from the announcement below.
from http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/
While I am excited Animal Kingdom is getting a major expansion (it needs it) and I do agree the land will be beautiful and the attractions will be very well done, I am still not excited about this, and I WANT to be excited about this, but I'm not. I have seen the Avatar film and, while I thought it was beautiful and very well done, it didn't leave a lasting impression for me. It was weak on story and high on visuals and that is exactly how I feel this land will be. Beautiful, but not lasting. This is reported to be a $500 million project, which is around what Animal Kingdom cost to originally build (more or less). I expect more.
The boat ride I am actually OK with. It looks like it will be a minor C or D ticket ride that will be nice on a hot Florida day. It looks like portions of it will be inside and it will have lots of colors and bright lights that will amuse kids for 5 to 10 minutes, which is exactly what Animal Kingdom needs. The park does not have a good children's ride in the classic Disney style, and this feels like it will be much simpler version of Small World...on an alien planet.
What REALLY worries me is the E ticket simulator that I am sure will be the anchor of the land. Aside from the fact that Disney is touch and go with simulators, they're either amazing (Star Tours, Sorin') or horrible (Body Wars, Mission Space), they don't have the shelf life or grander that Disney does best. I am sure it will be a good enough ride, but what I am not sure about is that it will continue to pack in the crowds for years to come. Attractions like Radiator Springs Racers and Expedition Everest will continue to be exciting for years to come because they combine mild thrills with epic Disney art and story telling. Simulators become stale and have to be continually refreshed to remain relevant. Sims are great as side attractions, in support of other major attractions to round out a land. As THE major attraction, I'm not sold.
Only making the situation worse is the fact that up I-4, Universal Studios Florida IS making grand, epic attractions that focus on art and story telling (not Transformers, Harry Potter). They are trying to beat Disney at their own game, and if WDW keeps on the path they're on, Universal will win.
So what do you think? Are you excited to walk through the world of Pandora, or is your next trip to Orlando going to center around Harry Potter, with WDW being a side trip?
--Mike
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